The Building

Deaconess Center is located at 1000 North Vandeventer, St. Louis, MO 63113. Due north of the St. Louis City Family Courts and Juvenile Justice Center, Deaconess Center is situated as a physical critique of the ways the region has chosen to engage challenges related to children and youth. The Center encourages collaborative, systems-focused civic engagement for youth flourishing over isolated, program-oriented interventions or punitive approaches.

Erected on a previously vacant lot, the building project significantly enhances community development. Deaconess Center aligns with the North Central Plan, a neighborhood-driven development initiative, and is planted within in the St. Louis Promise Zone, Grand Center Arts District and historic Covenant Blu Grand Center neighborhood. 

Directions to Deaconess Center

The $8.8 million building project was self-funded by Deaconess Foundation and participation in the New Market Tax Credit (NMTC) Program with allocations from the St. Louis Development Corporation and Capital One. The NMTC Program was established as a component of the federal Community Renewal Tax Relief Act of 2000 to stimulate revitalization in communities nationwide

During construction, all contractors paid prevailing wage with at least 35% of the contractors being minority business enterprises and 15% being women business enterprises. Upon completion, forty to fifty people will work at Deaconess Center, relocating from offices in downtown St. Louis and the Jeff VanderLou neighborhood.